Playing With Fire
by WitchGirl
Summary: Voila! Here is the epilogue promised. Sad ending with the song Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx. Enjoy for this is the last entry for this chapter!
1. Drowning Hope

Playing with Fire (For Lack of a better name)  
  
Summary: Someone's being stalked and the stalker is becoming nervous when he sees that his prey is always surrounded by past victims. And so, he decides to get rid of them... As female doctors are 'dropping like flies' fingers point to the one who's always the last person to see them before their 'accidents'. Ironically, in away, they're right.  
Rating: PG13 and R again, but more PG13. Oh well, better safe than sorry.  
A/N: This takes place before February 14 2000 so nobody's come back from the dead or anything strange like that...  
  
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Chapter 1: Drowning Hope  
  
He watched her every move, listened intently to every word uttered from her soft, rose colored lips. She tossed back her sheet of long blond hair and laughed with her smiling brown-haired coworker, John Carter. The two fought often, but he knew the doctor loved her. But John Carter would never be as infatuated with the girl as he was. He knew more about her than even she knew about herself. He knew that even though she didn't know it, she was madly in love with him.  
"She's the loveliest one so far," he whispered to himself, "Lovelier than the ones before her," he saw that she saw something in John Carter, too, but not for song. Soon, she would be his.  
  
Lucy smiled, laughed, and nodded on cue, but wasn't really listening to what Carter was telling her. Her mind was elsewhere. *If I humor him* she thought, *then maybe I can slip out and go meet Abby and Elizabeth by the river. God he's cute when he smiles!*  
"So the lawyer said, 'Oh my God, where's my Rolex!'" Carter began to laugh and Lucy joined in, not really understanding the joke having only heard the last line.  
"Uh, Carter?" she tried, "I promised Abby and Lizzy I'd meet them at the docks soon... Do you mind?"  
"Huh? No, not at all... Would it be all right if I joined you?"  
"Sure, that would be great!" and so, they got up and left. They didn't notice another man stand up after them.  
"Elizabeth Corday and Abby Lockhart, eh? If they see me, they'll recognize me and tell Lucy I'm dangerous... Perhaps now is the time for revenge..."  
  
Abby and Lucy looked out onto the river. The water was deep and a mucky brown. Carter had gone to get them some coffee and Elizabeth hadn't shown up yet. Abby and Lucy were casually girl chatting, unaware of the shadowy figure coming ever closer to them.  
"Did you know someone used to stalk me?" Abby asked, with a smile, "I finally found him, insulted him, slapped him and ran away," Lucy looked slightly worried, shocked and appalled but Abby continued and reassured her, "Oh, don't worry, I never saw him or heard from him again after that! I threatened him with a restraining order," they began to laugh about it but suddenly, Abby's laugh turned into a scream as she lost her balance and fell into the river.  
"Abby!" Lucy screamed and dove in after her. Abby tried to push her way to the surface as the murky brown liquid engulfed her lungs but found it difficult when she noticed her ankle was caught in something. Her fears rose when she realized it was the cold, tight grasp of a human being. Only then, when she looked down and saw a man's face, did she remember the unforgiving thrust of a pair of hands that had briefly been on her back before in. She then realized that she hadn't *fallen* into the river, she had been pushed.  
  
Lucy dived into the water again, fully aware of the dirt and grunge in the filthy river as it stung her eyes. Seeing as she couldn't see anything anyway, she decided to close them and feel around for an arm, a leg, or some sign of Abby who still hadn't surfaced. Lucy couldn't believe Abby didn't know how to swim. She knew there was something else; something unnatural about the way she fell into the water. She remembered a man had passed right after Abby fell in. She surfaced for air, still unable to find her friend. She saw an amazed, and slightly amused looking Carter, two coffees in hand, watching from the side.  
"Going swimming Luce?"  
"Abby fell in and I can't find her!" Lucy said, annoyed at his joking tone. Carter almost dropped the coffees he was holding as Lucy fought the current.  
"Stay there!" Lucy ordered, "I'll get her out!" she took a deep breath and dived again. This time, she found an arm that kept flying through the water. Lucy grabbed it firmly and a second hand came down and karate chopped Lucy's arm. Lucy drew it away and opened her mouth to say 'owe' but all that came out was bubbles. She didn't want to surface again, afraid of losing Abby again and so she made for the flailing arm again. When she caught it, it struggled some more, but became weaker and soon, it fell limp. Lucy swam upward, holding on tight to Abby, but Abby seemed to be too heavy. She felt down the body until she was at her foot which was caught in an old, tangled fishing net that was also tangled into a block of cement. She couldn't hold her breath for much longer and went up for air. When she did, she saw that Carter wasn't alone now. Beside him was Elizabeth Corday staring at Carter as he hung up the phone. Lucy had no time to chat and so dived again. It took her a minute, but she found Abby again. She untangled her foot from the net with some effort. When she appeared above water again, Abby's limp arm around her shoulder, Elizabeth tossed her a rope, which Lucy gladly caught. Abby was too heavy for her and so she needed the rope to help toe her in. It helped a lot since Lucy didn't have to fight the current as much. When she finally got out of the river, she heard the faint, but distinct sound of sirens in the distance. Lucy shook back her wet hair and Elizabeth gave Lucy her coat. Carter leaned over Abby and began to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation.  
"Carter called an ambulance," Lizzy informed Lucy in her thick British accent, "What happened?"  
"I... I don't know, she just... just fell in!" Lucy was shivering slightly. In a few minutes, an ambulance came and Abby still hadn't done anything. Carter and some paramedics lifted her up into the vehicle on a gurney. Elizabeth and Lucy followed them in. In the ambulance, Abby began to cough up some water and when they got to the ER, they wheeled her in on a gurney, Carter calling the stats.  
"What the Hell is going on, Carter you're not-" But Peter Benton stopped when he noticed Abby was the one on the stretcher. He said nothing more and soon, Luka Kovac joined.  
"What happened?" Luka asked, looking from drenched Abby to the quaking Lucy.  
"Later!" Lizzy said and watched them go into trauma 2. She waited with Lucy.  
"We need to get you dried up," Elizabeth said. Lucy followed her, hesitantly as she led Lucy up the stairs. But Lucy wasn't the only follower.  
"She looks even more beautiful wet," thought a man with wet hair as he followed the two women unnoticed up the stairs, "Your turn, Lizzy dearest..."  



	2. Falling Faith

Chapter 2: Falling Faith  
  
Lizzy led Lucy up the stairs, unsure of why she hadn't taken the elevator. She had just had this urge to take the stairs. Lucy was anxious and jumped at any sudden movement. Lizzy didn't know why.  
"Lucy, you're so jumpy. What's wrong?"  
"I have the strangest feeling we're being followed..." Lucy answered.  
"We aren't being-" But she broke off as she tripped and fell backwards down the stairs. Lucy watched, her eyes wide with terror as her friend tumbled head over heals down the flight of stairs. She could see the blood oozing from her head. She was so absorbed in her fear that she only just noticed a man looking after the unconscious woman as well. He turned and faced Lucy, an evil smile curling on his lips.  
"Did you pull her down?" Lucy asked, accusingly, "Whoever you are, did you pull her down?"  
"Maybe..." the man was still smiling. Lucy couldn't believe it.  
"You're enjoying this!" she said with disgust, "You like seeing her in pain! She might have broken her neck!"  
"Then she'll just die faster that way," he said. Lucy looked back at her fallen friend. There was a small puddle of blood by her head.  
"You seem familiar..." she trailed off because when she turned her head to look at the man, he was gone. She tried to remember every detail about him. Wet black hair. Deep, sea green eyes. Why did she feel that she had seen those eyes before? She felt a hand on her shoulder and screamed.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Kerry turned to Mark.  
"Yeah..." both their heads turned to the stairway.  
"You don't think it was..."  
"It sounded like..."  
"Lucy," they said together and sprinted to the stairway.  
  
"What's your problem? Relax!" Dave said. Lucy took a deep breath and nodded.  
"Sorry Dave.. I though... you just scared me-"  
"What the Hell happened?!" Dave asked, staring at the heap at the foot of the stairs that was Elizabeth Corday.  
"She... She fell..." Lucy didn't know why she hadn't told him the truth, and so, she tried, "She... She was pulled backwards..."  
"By what?"  
"Who," Lucy corrected. Dave shot her a suspicious glance and was about to say something when Mark Green and Kerry Weaver ran up the stairs.  
"What on earth?!" Kerry said, looking between Lucy and Elizabeth, "Dave, get a gurney!" she ordered. Dave nodded and left. To Lucy's surprise, she felt a tear fall down her cheek.  
"I... I didn't... She just..."  
"It's all right, Lucy..." Mark said, not quite sure what to say, "But help us here!" but Lucy was frozen. All she could do was look at Elizabeth, remember Abby and shake her head, disbelieving. What was going on? Who was that man? Had he been the one that walked past after Abby had fallen into the lake? Dave returned with Jing-Mei Chen and they rolled Lizzy away. But Lucy stayed in the hall, not knowing what to think or do. She sat down on the steps and realized she didn't want to be alone. What if she was next? She stood up again and discovered her legs felt like Jell-O. She couldn't feel the cold anymore. She had only enough strength to stumble into the lobby and her legs gave way and she feel on the couch. Carter walked in and sighed heavily, not seeing Lucy. He jumped when he did.  
"Lucy!" he said, surprised. She looked up at the expression on his face.  
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.  
"That's what I should be asking you."  
"You look troubled."  
"You look worse. You're still all wet. And even if you are, your eyes are a little red... Have you been crying?"  
"Me? Crying?" Lucy laughed, but it was a forced one and Carter knew it. He gave her a searching look and Lucy sighed, "Maybe my eyes watered a little... Have you heard?"  
"What?"  
"About Dr. Corday?"  
"What about her?" Carter seemed not to have heard anything about the doctor.  
"She..." but Lucy couldn't finish, "Oh Carter!"  
"Let's take a walk..."  
"How's Abby?"  
"I'll tell you soon. First I want to hear about Corday."  
"Abby isn't..."  
"She'll be fine. Come on," Carter took Lucy's hand and pulled her to her feet. Lucy was glad to get out of the hospital. Meanwhile, sea green eyes were watching.  
"You will not steal her away from me, you b******!" he whispered and followed, hatching another plan to kill...  
  
"She was pushed down the stairs?" Carter asked, incredulously.  
"Not pushed, pulled, by a black haired man with the most haunting green eyes. He scared me, Carter!"  
"It's Ok, Luce, we'll find him and bust him," Carter promised her. Lucy watched him cross the street and was met again with another scene of horror.  
"CARTER!"  
  
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Well? Whaddaya think? U really wanna read more? Find out how Abby is and what happened to Carter? See if Elizabeth is OK and find out how Dave and another character tie into the plot? Then TELL ME SO! Write a review! 


	3. Flying Suspisions

Chapter 3: Flying Suspicions  
  
Lucy stood idly by as she watched Carter fly up onto the windshield of a blue Corvette, smashing the window. The mad driver of the car didn't even slow down when he hit Carter but Lucy didn't need him to. She saw a flash of black hair and the wink of a green eye. She didn't need to see his face to know who it was. She tried to catch the license plate, but the car was driving too fast. She ran to Carter and lifted his head.  
"Carter? Carter, can you hear me? Somebody help!"  
  
"Don't you find it strange?" Dave tried to keep up with Marks quick strides. Carter had been brought in a few minutes ago. Lucy said he had been hit by a car but wouldn't give them a license plate.  
"What's strange?" Mark asked, not really interested.  
"All these people! Getting hurt!"  
"It happens every day, Dave, people get hurt every day!"  
"Yeah, but ER staff members are dropping like flies! And don't you find it the least bit peculiar that Lucy is always the one to report them? Or to bring them in, or the last one to see them before the accident?"  
"She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Mark was obviously getting bored with the conversation, but Dave continued.  
"Three times in one day? Not even I can be that incognizant!"  
"Ah, breaking out the big words, are we Malucci?"  
"You know, I don't think incognizant is the right word... maybe annoyed?"  
"Or stupid?"  
"Or easily angered?"  
"Or the biggest as-"  
"Hello, gentlemen!" Kerry said, breaking up the battle of the words, "And you're right, ignorant would have probably been the best word to describe it."  
"You were eavesdropping?" Mark asked, shocked. Dave, however, looked impressed.  
"I like to know what the gossip is around the ER."  
"I didn't know you had it in you, Weaver. But, then you agree? That Lucy's been acting strangely?" Dave asked.  
"I think the possibility of Lucy physically harming these doctors is conceivable, but the thought of her doing it intentionally is unsettling. She doesn't seem like that kind of girl..."  
"Maybe she's crazy. Maybe she flipped over night. You know, psycho serial killers seem all nice until it's too late," Kerry's eyes widened as she looked past Dave and Mark but Dave took no notice. Neither did Mark.  
"Why would she try to drown Abby?" Mark asked.  
"Maybe Abby stole a boyfriend." Dave answered  
"Lizzy?" Kerry asked, a small tone of amusement creeping into her voice.  
"She could have seen her push Abby in! Lucy wanted might have her out of the way so she didn't tell anyone. Remember? She called 'later' when they asked what happened." Dave informed them.  
"Carter?" Mark asked.  
"Maybe he caught on to her and she wanted to get rid of him... You expect me to ponder the thoughts of a crazy murderer?"  
"Hello, Malucci," came a voice behind Dave and Mark. Kerry could barely stifle a laugh. Dave and Mark turned on the spot to meet a smiling young blond haired med. student. But her smile looked forced and an anger flared in her eyes, "You seem to have given this a lot of thought."  
"Uh... um... that is to say... er... I didn't mean-"  
"Don't bother, Dave," she said, through gritted teeth, her hard, strained smile still in place. Her blue eyes now so fiery with anger, the other three swore they saw them glow red, as she seemed to burn a hole through Dave with her burning glare.  
"Lucy, I didn't mean..." But Lucy stalked off. Kerry chuckled.  
"Well, Dave, I hope you're wrong about her being a... what'd you call her? A 'psycho killer?' Well, anyway, if you're right, I think I know who the next victim is!" and she walked away, still laughing quietly to herself.  
"Cold-hearted little-"  
"She's right," Dave could see Mark was holding back a smile too, "She looked pretty mad."  
"Ah shut up!" Dave said and walked away.  
  
A green-eyed man walked into Abby's room. She had an oxygen mask on. She still wasn't breathing on her own. He smiled. This would make it all the easier. He walked up to the girl.  
"A sleeping beauty," he whispered, as he ran his hand through her long brown hair, "Too bad you don't have the attitude to match. No matter, I've found myself a real princess now..." Suddenly, Abby's eyes snapped open. She turned her head to the man and her eyes widened in alarm.  
"Hello again, Abby," the man smiled. He grabbed her by her shirt and his vile smile turned into a truly evil expression of hatred, "You're not going to tell anyone who did that to you. People think that it's Lucy Knight, and that is what you will support. If not, I will come back and kill you, Elizabeth, and that fool of a man Carter! Even my precious Lucy will sadly fall victim to suicide! Do you understand? You do not have to say it is Lucy Knight. Only if they ask. Pretend to be hesitant. Remember that she used to be your friend. Lucy Knight pushed you into the river; Lucy Knight held you down; Lucy Knight did it all, do you understand me?" Abby's eyes were full of terror. She didn't know what to do. She thought it best to agree with him for now. And so she nodded.  
"HEY!" she heard someone yell. The man turned his head and Lucy was in the doorway, "Get away from her!" she yelled, "Somebody help!" the man scowled at her, pulled off Abby's oxygen mask and jumped out the window. First, Abby ran to the window. It was a seven-story drop! How could he have escaped. Then, she remembered Abby and Ran over to the bed. Just as she got there, Dave, Peter and Luka were in the doorway. Lucy froze. She knew what this must look like to them. They stared at the sight before them. Lucy was over Abby, oxygen mask in hand while Abby was lying there on the bed, beginning to suffocate again.  
"Get the God damned mask on that woman!" Mark screamed as he ran over to her. He snatched the mask from Lucy's hand angrily. Lucy just took deep breaths.  
"Guys, it's not what it looks like..." she tried to say, but most of the words got caught in her throat and so it came out, "G-guys? I-It's... not...what... i-it... looks... l-like..."  
"Holy crap, I was right!" Dave said, shaking his head, "You are a murderer!"  
"What's going on in here?" Kerry said as she came in. She saw that Dave and Luka were staring at Abby while Mark was trying to get Abby to breathe again.  
"Lucy... you... you didn't?" Luka stuttered. He couldn't believe it. Dave turned to Kerry.  
"See? I told you, Weaver, I told you! Didn't I Mark?"  
"Whatever, Malucci! Can you too just stop staring at her and help me over here?" Mark screamed. He sounded annoyed, angry and full of hatred. Luka ran over to help Mark. Romano came in followed by Peter, Cleo, Jing-Mei and Carol.  
"Oh great, let's all have a party!" Lucy threw her hands in the air.  
"I demand to know what's going on!" Romano commanded  
"Lucy tried to kill Abby... Again!" Dave informed him and the rest of the crew.  
"What?!" they all said together, turning to Lucy.  
"Is this true, Lucy Knight?" Romano asked.  
"Oh please, I didn't try to kill anyone!" Lucy couldn't believe it. She crossed her arms very annoyed and frustrated; knowing it wouldn't help her case one bit but also disbelieving that her friends would ever accuse her of anything like murder, "This is unbelievable!"  
"See, I told you! Nice until they make their move, that's the way serial killers are!" Dave called.  
"Shut up Malucci!" Every single person in the room except Abby screamed. Dave fell silent and turned back to Abby who was now stabilized.  
"How could you, Lucy?" Cleo asked, "Why?"  
"I didn't kill anyone!"  
"No, thanks to the doctors in this hospital! Dave's right! *You* were always the last one to see Carter, Abby and Lizzy; *you* were the one Carter and Abby found in the river, most likely holding Abby under; *you* were the one who looked so murderously angry when Dave accused you! All the facts point to you!" Mark screamed.  
"Unbelievable!" Lucy repeated, "It's just unbelievable that you would even think... Me! Of all people! Me, the person who just wants to help; me, the person who's always trying to please everyone; me, a med. student who's only here to learn medicine to *save* lives, not take them away! I mean, come on!" but her statement did not sway the jury's decision.  
"Lucy, I am afraid I have no choice but to call the police," Romano said calmly. Lucy was surprised and appalled. Her mouth hung open.  
"You can't be serious! Police? I didn't kill anyone! I haven't hurt anyone the whole time I've been her! This is not my fault! Abby will tell you! Carter will tell you! I wasn't the one driving that corvette!"  
"Abby is in no condition to-" but before Luka could finish, Abby sat straight up.  
"Lucy..." she breathed. Eyes went from Abby, then back to Lucy.  
"Yes? Tell them, Abby, tell them I saved you! Tell them I didn't try to kill you!" Lucy pleaded. But Abby looked at Lucy with terror in her eyes.  
"Lucy did it..." was all she could say, but the moment she did, she wished she hadn't. Lucy could see the regret in her eyes "I'm sorry, Lucy!" she said, a tear falling down her cheek. Lucy couldn't believe any of this. Somehow, this had to all have been a dream. She just stared at Abby and knew what she had to do. And so, she ran.  
  
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Hehe... Y this stalker type framing his victim? Care to take any guesses? Trust me, this kid is one f***ed up mother ******! And he has a plan. Still more Dave stuff commin up and there's a little space reserved for Luka too in the next chapter or two! And Lucy's in big trouble now! 


	4. Crashing Beliefs

Chapter 4: Crashing Beliefs  
  
Luka ran after Lucy. He didn't want her to get away. He wasn't sure what was going on, but if she was dangerous, he didn't want her on the streets. Dave soon joined him.  
"I'll go this way, you go see if she went outside!" Dave told him. Luka nodded and they parted.  
  
Lucy entered the locker room. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay here. They'd find her. As she peeked out the door, she felt icy fingers slide snake like around her lips.  
"Don't scream..." whispered a voice as cold as the ice in his heart. He left a note on the table and took Lucy to the window. Lucy was trapped. If she screamed, they would find her and punish her for a crime she didn't commit. If she didn't scream, she'd be kidnapped. *Damned if you do, damned if you don't* she thought. But if she screamed, maybe then she could prove that this was the man who had done the killing. But this man was smart. An evil conniving clever scumbag. He'd be gone in the blink of an eye if she'd screamed and so it would do her no good. She had been so busy debating her thoughts, that she hadn't noticed the man take her out of the window. He was now climbing down a rope. She didn't struggle much to get away. *Let them worry* she thought, *Maybe then they'll realize that I didn't kill anybody. I can escape this. I just have to concentrate. *  
  
Dave ran into the locker room. He felt a cool breeze from outside. He went over and closed the window. That's when he noticed a rope. He looked over at the table and saw a note.  
  
To whoever cares  
  
I didn't kill anyone and I never would. I am running away, I won't say where, to start a new life with my boyfriend. I won't be coming back to Chicago. Send police after me, I don't care. I know I didn't do anything wrong. Carter will tell you. Good bye, so-called friends.  
  
Dr. Lucy Knight  
  
Something was wrong with that note. The way it was written. And then there was something in the signature. It wasn't signed right. And since when was she *Dr.* Lucy Knight? She was still studying, a med. student. He scrawled a quick note under it to his colleagues.  
  
Maybe Lucy didn't do it after all. I have a bad feeling about this note. I'm going after her.  
DR. Dave Malucci  
  
He underlined the 'Dr.' part in his signature. Maybe that would give the others a hint. He decided to climb down the rope.  
"All good detectives must follow their suspects to the letter!" Dave whispered, having seen too many private eye movies. He reached the sidewalk and looked around. He saw nothing. But something saw him.  
  
"Damn!" whispered the green-eyed man, "Who the hell is that?"  
"That's Dave, you asshole!" Lucy spat.  
"Be quiet, my love. Don't worry, he won't take you away from me. I will dispose of him..."  
  
Luka took one last look outside then ran back in. He couldn't find Dave now, either. He checked the locker room. He saw a note on the table and read it through.  
"Dave... Why did you have to go play hero?" Luka shook his head. Frankly, he didn't see anything wrong with the note. But then he noticed the way Lucy signed her name. Dr. Lucy Knight? And the 'L' wasn't the way Lucy wrote her 'Ls.' Luka knew, for just this morning she had shown him a birthday card she was going to send to her mother. The signature was different. And the letter sounded so full of bitterness and hatred that Luka didn't even know Lucy had. He snatched up the letter and went to show the others.  
  
Dave saw a head of black hair run into a dark ally, dragging along a blond haired woman. Dave followed, knowing it had to be Lucy.  
The stalker/kidnapper watched as Dave ran into the ally after him.  
"Don't hurt him!" Lucy screamed, Dave stopped, "Dave, RUN! It's a trick!" Dave looked around. It was too dark to see anything but he knew he heard Lucy's voice. Suddenly, he felt someone jump onto his back and grab him around the neck, pulling him backwards. He heard a choked scream and assumed it was from Lucy. He felt the hands around his neck slip away and as he made to get up, he felt something metal hit him in the stomach and fell back again. It had been a trashcan. He felt around for something and found a foot. He pulled it out from under someone and a person came falling down with a scream. Dave got up and held the man down, hands tying the man's arms to his side.  
"Who are you?"  
"Lucy's prince! I've come to rescue her!"  
"Like hell you are!" Dave punched the man in the face, "What is your name!"  
"Luka Kovac!" the man smiled. Dave looked at him as if he were crazy. The man spat out more names, "John Carter, Mark Green, Peter Benton, Robert Romano, Dave Malucci... I could even be Doug Ross if you wanted me to!"  
"What the hell are you playing at, you psycho?" Dave demanded.  
"All I'm saying is I can be anyone I want!"  
"Right, Ok, you're going to jail now, you crazy sicko!" the man said nothing, "Wait... Where's Lucy?" the man still said nothing, "Where is she, damnit?"  
"You won't find her. I hid her. She's gone. You'll never find her without me. If you send me to jail, she'll surely starve to death. What are you going to do?" Dave was silent as he tried to think. While he was distracted, the man kicked him off. He picked Dave up with two strong hands and threw him against the cold, hard brick wall and Dave slumped to the ground. The impact was almost too much but Dave fought to stay conscious. The man stood over him. Dave felt to a cut to his head and noticed it was bleeding. He looked up at the man into his deep green eyes.  
"You really want to know who I am?" he asked, grinning viciously, "Because I'll tell you before I kill you. No more mistakes. The other three were supposed to die. But no matter, you will make it up to me. No one can save you, Malucci. Lucy's not here to scream for help. No one comes down this way. Who knows how long you'll be lying here before they find you? Poor old Dave Malucci. I can just see the headlines: Doctor Found Beaten to Death in an Ally by Ex-Med. Student. Ha!"  
"Why are you doing this?" Dave tried to ask.  
"Why? Because I love her. I'm saving her. She would never last long in this place. She's my bride and she's coming with me. Now it's time for you to die, Dr. Dave!"  
  
"Dave did WHAT?!" Mark screamed, amazed.  
"He went after her!" Luka repeated.  
"Give me that!" Kerry ordered as she grabbed the note from Luka's hand. She read it through, twice and gave it to Mark. He read it through too. Romano snatched it from Mark's hand.  
"Who the hell does he think he is?" Romano asked, "Some sort of super hero?"  
"Luka, I want you to go and find him. Mark, you go too,"  
"Dr. Weaver-"  
"No, Romano, I will not have two members of this staff in potential danger! Luka and Mark are going to find them and you aren't going to do anything about it! Peter and Carol will handle Carter, it seems he should wake up soon and we will question him. Cleo and I will be with Elizabeth, tending to her. Randi is making sure no one enters Abby's room that doesn't have authorization while Jing-Mei is in the room with her. Everything is under control."  
"Dr. Weaver, last time I checked, I believe I was in charge!" Romano told her.  
"Dr. Romano, last time I checked you were a stubborn son of a bitch!" Luka and Mark stared between Kerry Weaver and Robert Romano thinking she would be fired for sure. They could see Romano was about to burst. But all he said was.  
"Go gentlemen," Mark and Luka were only too happy to oblige.  
  
"Where do you think he went?" Mark asked.  
"How should I know?" Luka asked.  
"I'll go down this street and you can go that way, see if you find any trace of them," Mark said, already jogging off in the other direction. Luka agreed and ran the other way. Soon, Mark passed a dark ally and heard something. He looked down it and saw just a bunch of fallen boxes and trashcans.  
"A cat," he thought, and moved on. But out of the heap, a hand, covered in small cuts and bruises emerged and fell limp.  
  
"Oh..." Carter moaned. He opened his eyes and saw a black haired woman smiling back at him.  
"Ah, awake are we?" Carol Hathaway said. Carter turned his head to see that there was an African-American man there, as well.  
"What's going on? What happened?" Carter asked, drowsily.  
"You were hit by a corvette according to Lucy," Peter Benton answered, hesitantly.  
"Lucy who?" Carter seemed confused.  
"... Carter?" Carol asked expectantly. Carter turned his head to Peter.  
"Are you Carter?" he asked Peter. Peter looked into his eyes. They were so blank and unknowing.  
"He doesn't remember anything..." Peter said, amazed.  
  
  
Please review. Basically, all I gotta say. Hehe. Sorry, a little sugar high! sugarsugarsugar! 


	5. Breaking Down

Chapter 5: Breaking Down  
  
Cleo watched Elizabeth sleep. She wished this wasn't happening, but it was. She wished it all to be a dream, but she was wide-awake. Lucy supposedly tried to kill three people today. She couldn't believe it. And now, Lucy and Dave both could be in big trouble. Kerry came in and she turned.  
"Hey, Dr. Weaver," she smiled, wanly.  
"Hello, Dr. Finch!" she said, a triumphant sound to her voice though her face looked slightly annoyed.  
"What happened?" Cleo asked.  
"Romano happened, that's what. But later, all right? We need to focus on Elizabeth. How's she-" but she broke off when Elizabeth's eyes snapped open and she made a quick move to sit up but Cleo pushed her back down.  
"What's going on?" Elizabeth said.  
"Uh, Dr. Weaver?" Randi was at the door.  
"Randi? What are you doing, you're supposed to-"  
"Abby's telling all," Randi interrupted her.  
"What?" Kerry asked, "What do you mean?"  
"Dr. Chen was in there and she just burst into tears!"  
"Huh? Why?" Kerry, Cleo, and even Elizabeth asked, who was now sitting up.  
"She says she needs to talk to someone. She needs to 'tell all.' But she seems not to notice if anyone's there at all because she just started talking. She started at the river."  
"What did she say?" as if to answer Weaver's question, Jing-Mei came sliding in.  
"Lucy's innocent!" she declared, "Abby just told the whole story! But what's even worse, get this, she was framed... By her stalker."  
  
Luka ran down the street looking for any sign of Dave or Abby.  
"This is useless!" he declared, and ran back to Marks direction. He passed the hospital again, trying to find Mark and tell him it was a waste of time. As he passed in front of an ally way, he saw some boxes tumble. He was about to ignore it when a trashcan rolled out of the way and he saw a bruised and beaten arm protruding out from under the boxes.  
"Oh no!" he said and ran over to the body, "Mark, someone, anyone!" he screamed, throwing the trashcans, boxes, and broken bottles out of the way. He saw it was Dave, covered in filth and scratches. Broken glass was all over the place and Luka assumed they had been from the bottles.  
"No, Dave, NO!" he screamed, "SOMEBODY GET OVER HERE!!"  
  
"Cleo, stay here with Elizabeth, I want to see what Abby has to say!" Kerry said, jogging out the door. Elizabeth fell back on the bed and sighed.  
"How are you feeling?" Cleo smiled, warmly.  
"Not good. What's happening?" Elizabeth replied.  
"Well, you fell down the stairs..."  
"I know that much, I mean what is going on?"  
"Well, since you've been out, a lot has been going on, but what you need now is to relax. Don't think about these things or you'll stress yourself out," Cleo told her.  
"I want to know what happened now. Maybe I can help."  
"Did you see anyone else at the time you were pushed?" Cleo asked. Elizabeth thought.  
"No, but I remember Lucy felt someone was watching us..."  
"That's all you can help us with right now," Cleo said.  
"You don't actually think *Lucy* pushed me, did you?" Elizabeth asked.  
"We aren't sure. As Dr. Chen just said, Abby said she was innocent. But then again, she was also the one who told us she was guilty..."  
"Cleo? Where's Weaver?" Peter Benton appeared at the door, a serious look on his face. Cleo looked back, puzzled.  
"Uh... She went to talk to Abby... Says Lucy didn't do anything... Why?"  
"Carter," Benton replied, simply, "That's why."  
"What's wrong with Carter?" Elizabeth asked.  
"Elizabeth!" said Peter, surprised, "I didn't notice you were awake!"  
"What happened to Carter?" Elizabeth demanded.  
"Well... he was hit by a car. But why do you want to see Dr. Weaver about that?" Cleo said.  
"Wait, he was hit by a car?" Elizabeth asked, surprised. Cleo ignored her.  
"Is he worse? Is he better? What?"  
"Well, there's good news and bad news..." Peter trailed off. Cleo and Elizabeth waited expectantly.  
"Good news?" Cleo asked.  
"Is that he's awake and vitals are normal. He'll live... The bad news is..."  
"Go on..." Elizabeth said.  
"The bad news, is that he doesn't know who he is."  
  
"Holy crap, Luka what did you find?" Mark said after hearing Luka's scream. He saw Luka bending over something in the alley. He jogged over to Luka and saw the cold body of Dr. Dave Malucci, looking severely beaten. Cuts and bruises and a black eye... and his arm, sticking out at a weird angle, possibly broken.  
"We have to get him to the hospital NOW!" Luka shouted.  
  
"OK, Abby, stop muttering and string your words together to make sentences!" Kerry said, grabbing Abby's shoulders. Abby steadied herself and nodded. Before, she had been saying things like 'Lucy... stalker... used to stalk me... hunting Lucy... kill me...'  
"At the river...Lucy is not the one who tried to kill me; she didn't push me in. It was another man called Jacob Crowe... He has dark hair and the brightest green eyes I've ever seen. I never knew he was this dangerous, but... Well, he used to stock me. And Dr. Corday too. We talk about it sometimes. It's no big deal. Elizabeth scared him off one day with a gun- no, Weaver, it wasn't loaded- and he never came back... He pushed me into the river and held me down, not Lucy... The thing is, I think Crowe's stalking Lucy now. He told me to... He told me to tell you guys that Lucy tried to kill me. Otherwise, he'd come back and kill Dr. Corday, Dr. Carter, me, and he said he might even kill Lucy! I... I didn't know what to do! Then, Lucy came in and scared him off... She didn't try and kill me..."  
"Why are you telling us this now... Aren't you afraid for your life? For Lucy's life?" Jing-Mei asked.  
"I'm telling you because... I think Lucy's now in for a fate worse than death," Kerry was about to say more, but at that moment, Randi pulled her away.  
"Dr. Weaver, trauma coming in," she said.  
"Can't Dr. Chen handle it?" Kerry asked, wanting to hear more about this stalker. Jing-Mei looked willing and able but Randi shook her head, a very solemn look on her face.  
"Trust me, I think you might wanna see this!" Kerry sighed and stood up. When she stepped into the hallway, she saw Mark and Luka wheeling in a patient on a gurney.  
"What's going on? You're supposed to be out looking for- Oh my God, that's Dave!" Kerry said as she saw who the beaten male was, "Where's Lucy?" she asked.  
"She wouldn't have done this would she?" Mark said as they got him into trauma one, "I mean, she's not that evil?"  
"No, she's not. In fact, she's not evil at all. She was framed."  
"Oh..." Dave moaned as his eyes opened.  
"Dave? Dave, listen, I know it's hard, but can you remember what happened?" Kerry asked.  
"He said... Lucy... Princess... Prince... Hid... Starve... Jail..." he didn't say any more. His eyes rolled.  
"Dave? Dave, stay with me now... DAMNIT!"  
  
She could hear the dripping. Where was she? She didn't know. But she felt the cold stone floor beneath her. There was a severe throbbing in her head. She tried to move her hands then noticed the rough, hard ropes cutting into her wrists. She opened her eyes and realized she was in a dark, cold room. She was sitting down against a wall.  
"What the Hell is going on?" she asked herself, "Where am I?"  
"Ah, you're awake, my princess..." Lucy saw a light as a small opening in the ceiling opened and a man climbed down a ladder. The darkness in the room disappeared as the man flicked on a light. She looked around, but all she could see was gray, damp walls.  
"Why am I here?"  
"I had to make sure you wouldn't run away! You struggled so much before you acted as if you don't know who I am!"  
"I *don't* know who you are!" Lucy declared.  
"Lucy, dearest, it's me! Jacob! Your husband! Your Prince! Again, sorry about the accommodations. Don't worry, nothing but the best for my princess from now on... That is, if you're good. One thing I can't stand is rudeness. Rude people must be punished. Please don't turn into a rude person, or you'll turn into Cara."  
"Cara? Who's Cara?"  
"Cara, my sweet, was my first wife. She died down here, you know. She said I had a sick mind. She said she wasn't my wife. And so, I put her down here until she saw the error of her ways. I left sent her in here without supper... But in the morning, she was still afraid of me. So I left her in here the whole day. And the day after that, and the day after that... She soon began to bang on the door but I was done with her now. I had a new love, a new infatuation. You. The police came 'round, looking for Cara. They never thought to look in the cellar," Lucy remembered something she had read in the paper about a woman who had gone missing about six months ago, kidnapped and presumed dead. She then remembered her name. Cara Wilson.   
"W- Where is Cara now?" she was afraid to ask.  
"Over there," the man waved his hand, casually to the corner. Lucy glanced over to a decaying corpse with long brown hair. Lucy screamed.  
"Don't worry, you're not like Cara. You liked my letters. You read them with interest, I saw you! Did you like the roses? All these six months I wanted to know if you loved me, too but you never wrote back," Six whole months? Had he really been stalking her that long? She had received little letters in pink envelopes, but never thought anything of them. She had just put them in a drawer and never looked at them again. They were all signed 'your secret admirer.' She never even dreamed it was a stalker. Some notes she didn't even read. Had he been watching her all that time? She had received a charming bouquet of roses on her birthday. All they said was 'Happy Birthday.' She had thought those were from her friends.  
"Those roses were from you?!" she asked.  
"Yes. And you did like them, didn't you? You put them in a lovely vase. But that vase is nothing compared to your beauty," in any other situation, Lucy would have been flattered. But now, she had been stalked and kidnapped and was sitting in a cold, dank little cellar, and her roommate was a dead ex-victim of the stalker.  
"You're sick! You need help!" Lucy spat. But the look on Jacob's face told her she shouldn't have.  
"Since you are my soul mate, I will let that one slide for now. But just for that, you will stay in here for the night! Don't worry, you I will let out in the morning. Cara wasn't worth it. But you, my princess, will be my loveliest bride!" and with that, he climbed back up to the room above.  
"Help! Somebody let me out!" she screamed, but knew it was worthless. She knew that she should have screamed for help back at the hospital. Even if they did blame her, even in jail you had three square meals a day. And you weren't with a psychopath who could kill you the second you weren't looking. She had been wrong. She couldn't get out of this on her own. And who would find her or even suspect her of being kidnapped? After all, they thought she had run away. A fugitive on the run from the law. And they hadn't found Cara, either and they had been *looking* for her. Did she expect them to just stumble across his hiding place? No, she knew help would never come. And with that knowledge she broke down into tears.  
  
Review! Pathetic, isn't it? But donchya wanna see what happens to Dave? Lucy? See if Carter remembers anything? More Luka stuff, too, so don't think this is all! 


	6. Uncovering the Clues

Chapter 6: Uncovering the Clues  
  
Luka thought about Dave's words. Hid? Did he mean Lucy was hidden? Did he mean she was starving? They hadn't made sense.  
"LUKA!" Kerry screamed. Luka shook his head and remembered that Dave was in trouble and got back to work immediately.  
"Kerry!" Benton ran into the room and stopped, "Is that-"  
"Not now, Peter, I'm busy! Come on, Dave, come on!"  
"That is Dave!" Peter said, amazed, "Why the hell does this guy have a thing for hurting doctors?"  
"Don't ask me!" Kerry said, frustrated.  
"Doctors... Doctors... Crowe... That's it!" Luka said suddenly.  
"What's it?" Mark asked.  
"Look, can you handle this, Mark? I have to check something," Mark was about to answer, but Luka interrupted, "Thanks!" and he ran out.  
"Luka!" Mark yelled after him, "Kerry, could you-"  
"Sorry, Benton's- wait, Benton, would you mind-" Kerry started.  
"Mark, I'm sorry, but Carter-"  
"Oh, just go! Finch! Romano! Someone!" Mark yelled and Cleo ran in.  
"What's happening?" Cleo asked. Then, she saw Dave, "Oh dear God!" Kerry made her way out with Peter.  
"OK, I want him awake in five minutes! Do you understand? What is it, Peter?" Kerry asked, after they had exited the room.  
"It's Carter..."  
"He's awake? Great, I have to get all the info I can about this-"  
"Wait!" Peter yelled after her as she half ran down the hall.  
"What?" Kerry turned, "What happened? He's OK, isn't he?"  
"Physically? He's fine..."  
"What are you saying exactly?" Kerry asked, suspiciously.  
"Well, I don't think he'll be any help..." Peter tried to find the words.  
"You mean he doesn't remember what happened?"  
"More than that. He doesn't remember his own name." Kerry's eyes widened and she raced at full speed to Carter's room. Carter was sitting up in bed, rubbing his head, Carol was sitting with him.  
"Kerry!" she said, relieved. Kerry said nothing. She went straight over to Carter.  
"Hi, my name is Dr. Kerry Weaver... That sound familiar?" Carter paused and shook his head.  
"I'm sorry... My head hurts so much... And I can't remember anything. I wish I could help you, but I don't even remember *knowing* you," Carter answered, apologetically. But he looked at Kerry as if she were claiming to be his long lost sister, "But I'm supposed to, aren't I? Remember you, I mean."  
"Have you heard the name Dr. John Carter before?" she asked. Carter thought for a moment.  
"Yeah!" he said. Kerry turned to Peter at the door.  
"You see? He hasn't forgotten everything!" Peter just smiled and shook his head.  
"It's that guy, right? She called him Carter!" Carter said, triumphantly. Kerry stared at him and gaped.  
"Uh, no, I'm sorry... Do you know who you are?"  
"No," Carter answered, simply without thought, "I've been trying to remember, but... wait... there was a girl... A blond girl. She looked... Scared..." he screwed up his face, trying to remember.  
"A girl?" Kerry asked, "Keep going..."  
"Well... She looked really scared. I can't remember anything else about her except I always felt good around her... like a close friend or... a sister! Or maybe a lover? No, no. Probably a sister..." Kerry and Peter watched as Carter went through an argument he had had before silently, but didn't remember. Going on about his feelings for the nameless blond girl. Was she a sister or a girlfriend? Kerry didn't think listening to this was right.  
"OK, OK, we get it... Do you remember her name?"  
"L, L, something with an L... Laura? Lindy? Lilly? Uh... No, I can't..."  
"Lucy?" Carol suggested.  
"Lucy Knight?" Kerry added.  
"Yeah! That was it... you know her?"  
"She works here and so do you. Your name is Dr. John Carter and-"  
"I think the man knows his own name, Dr. Weaver," Kerry turned at the sound of a voice she didn't want to hear.  
"Hello, Dr. Romano," she said her voice full of bitterness, "Peter, could you please tell him why I am going through these procedures?" Peter took Romano outside.  
"It sounded like you two don't like each other very much," Carter commented.  
"Well, let me put it this way, I don't think I will be here much longer..." Kerry said.  
"Oh my God, Kerry, what did you do?" Carol asked.  
"I really do not want to talk about it right now," Kerry said, "Now, what was your name again?"  
"Uh, you said I'm a Doctor?" Carter asked.  
"Yes, but that isn't important right now. Do you remember what your name is?"  
"You said my name's John Carter," Carter said, nodding his head.  
"That's right. Do you remember what happened to you?"  
"Uh... That guy said that I was hit by a car..."  
"And suffered sever head trauma. That would account for the amnesia," Kerry said, making a note.  
"How?"  
"How what?" Kerry asked, looking up at him.  
"How did I get hit?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"What happened when the car hit me? How did I get head trauma?"  
"Why?" Kerry asked, eyeing him suspiciously.  
"I... don't know!" he answered, sounding slightly annoyed.  
"Well, when the car hit you, supposedly you flew up onto the windshield and knocked your head against it. Lucy said it made quite a dent... After that, you fell backwards, head first back onto the road..." Kerry said this all slowly, wondering why he wanted to know all the details.  
"And..."  
"And why do you think you have that thing on your head?" Kerry asked, pointing to a bandage.  
"Oh, right..." he said.  
"So, what's happening?" Benton reentered the room.  
"Dr. Carter, this is Dr. Benton, you should remember him-"  
"I should remember a lot of things, but I don't do I?" Carter snapped, angrily.  
"Ok, well, anyway, I have to get back to Dave. Benton will talk to you; see what you remember..." Kerry said, backing away towards the door and left.  
  
Luka searched frantically through the files.  
"Crowe, Crowe, Jacob Crowe..." he kept muttering. Finally, he found something, "ah ha!" he said, triumphantly, holding the file up as if it were a memorial of victory. He flipped through it.  
"Hmm... six months..." he started sprinting towards Carter's room. Inside, he found Carol, Peter and Carter.  
"Uh, have you guys seen Kerry?" he asked.  
"Yeah, she went back to Dave a few minutes ago... why? What did you find?" Benton replied.  
"This!" Luka said, happily, "I know where we can find him!" and he took off down the hall.  
  
"Dr. Weaver?" Luka called.  
"I told you I wanted him AWAKE! Not unconscious! Get that man conscious!" Kerry shouted, ignoring Luka.  
"WEAVER!" he screamed again. Kerry turned.  
"My God, what is it Dr. Kovac?" Weaver said, wearied.  
"Look at these..." Luka shook the file. Kerry sighed.  
"OK, when I get back, that man better be awake! Or at least stable!" she said as left with Luka.  
"What is it?" she repeated.  
"This is the file of Jacob Crowe."  
"What?" Kerry said, snatching the file from Luka.  
"Look. He came here around six months ago with abdominal pain."  
"Who treated him?" Kerry demanded, flipping through the file.  
"Lucy did," Kerry looked up at him disbelieving.  
"No... You don't think... No..."  
"Look, Dr. Weaver, I met with him before Lucy arrived. He seemed like a perfectly normal case... Except for the fact he ducked when Dr. Corday passed... But when Lucy arrived, his mouth dropped... I think that's when it started," Luka looked at Kerry seriously, "I want to go after her."  
"Luka... Luka, no!" Kerry said, catching his shoulder as he turned to leave, "We've already lost Dave, Carter's down, Abby's in tears, and I'm not too sure about Corday..."  
"What?" Luka asked, "What did you say?" surely, he couldn't have heard correctly. Or maybe he had misunderstood.  
"I said that I don't know how Corday is. I've been too busy going between Abby and Dave and Carter and back to Dave that-"  
"No, I mean about Dave... What did you say?" She didn't say they had *lost* Dave, did she?  
"I said that we already have Dave and Carter down... Why?" Kerry looked at him.  
"Nothing," Luka said, happy he had misunderstood, "But look! I have his address! I can go over there and-"  
"Get your butt kicked. Look, Randi's already called the police. They can go over and talk to him."  
"I'm talking to him!" Luka said, stubbornly.  
"No, you're not! You are going to stay right here. We need you, Luka!"  
"You're doing fine!" Luka protested, "Please, Kerry, please!" he fell to his knees, his hands clenched together as if he were praying.  
"I honestly don't understand why your begging for the chance to be put in serious danger," Kerry looked down at him and shook her head. Luka got to his feet as a few nurses walked by, giggling slightly at the sight of him.  
"Now I know why Dave didn't talk to you before he left," Luka said. Kerry just smiled.  
"I have to go see Dave..." She took a deep breath and, although she had told them to keep Dave awake, Luka could sense she wasn't sure he'd ever be awake again. He knew how much stress she had now and how much she'd be mad at him later, but the address in the file kept repeating itself in his mind. It wasn't far from the hospital. He could almost walk. Come to think of it, it was very close to the alley they had found Dave in. He took one last look after Kerry and headed for the door.  
  
  
Now be good and review. The more you review, the faster I'll get up the next chapter! 


	7. Finding Faith

Chapter Seven: Finding Faith  
  
"He's still not awake yet?" Kerry asked. Mark shook his head. They were now in the OR.  
"At least he's stable. He shouldn't-"  
"Dr. Green!" Cleo cried, "He's beginning to wake up!" Kerry and Mark ran over to Dave, who was stirring. He still looked deathly pale.  
"Dave?" Kerry said, tentatively.  
"Chief?" he muttered. She smiled.  
"Dave, do you know what happened?"  
"Some guy... he was crazy... he hid Lucy... Said we needed him to find her... If we took him to jail, she'd probably..." he moaned in pain.  
"Dave? You OK?" his eyes snapped open at Mark's question.  
"I want to get him!" he said, with anger filled determination. There was life in his eyes again. The burning desire to 'get him' kept him alive. He sat up but Mark eased him back down.  
"Easy there, you're not ready to go out there looking for him."  
"But look what he's done!" Dave said, his voice sounding annoyed now, without an ounce of weariness, "Done to Carter, Corday, Abby, Me, Lucy... He's gonna pay! He's mine!"  
"You sound like Luka," Kerry laughed.  
"Luka?" Mark and Dave turned to her.  
"Yeah... I mean, no... I mean, Mark could I talk to you?" she pulled Mark away.  
"Yes?"  
"Luka found his file."  
"What?!"  
"It had his address in it. He wanted to go after him. I didn't want to say this in front of Dave incase he got any ideas..."  
"Wait a minute... He was that determined and you left him alone?" Mark asked, disbelieving. Kerry nodded, then stopped and began to shake her head skeptically.  
"No, he wouldn't... Not Luka, he's not like Dave, he wouldn't go anywhere without telling anyone... Would he?"  
"Have you seen him lately?"  
"I was with him ten minutes ago..."  
"And where is he now?"  
"Page him!" Kerry ordered as she headed out, "No, wait, on second thought, I'll do it."  
  
Lucy stopped crying. Did she hear someone knock? Someone outside? No, it must have been her imagination. Who would be looking for her? But then, she heard Jacob go to the door.  
  
Luka rang the doorbell, the casual approach. He was being paged, but ignored it. No one answered so he rang it again. After about waiting for a few minutes, a man answered the door.  
"Yeah? What do you want, I'm busy!" the man sounded angry.  
"Um, is this Mr. Crowe?" Luka asked.  
"Where you from?" the man asked, detecting Luka's Croatian accent.  
"Answer the question, please, sir," Luka ignored him.  
"No, my name is Daniel Carson," Luka looked the man up and down. He had red hair and brown eyes, "I think you have the wrong house."  
"Maybe I do, thank you," Luka tossed one more suspicious glance at the character before he shut the door. He then saw the house number. 143. He was looking for 145.  
  
Lucy listened as she heard Jacob talk to the man at the door.  
"I said I don't want no God damned vacuum cleaner!" she heard the door slam hard. She felt something on the back of her neck. Eight poking sticks moving up to her head. She screamed and shook the spider off. She watched it scuttle away over to what was left of Cara. It was a huge spider. Lucy hated spiders.  
"I have to get out of here, I just have to!" she promised herself. Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything since that morning and all it was was a cup of coffee. She was so hungry. She knew she should have been thinking of a plan to help her escape, but all she could think about was that she'd never see the face of another human being again. The only smile she'd ever see again was that crooked smile on that evil man's horrible face. She flinched at the thought. The last time she had seen her friends they were accusing her of trying to hurt Abby. They had no reason to look for her now. Suddenly, she jumped at the sound of a doorbell.  
  
Luka made his way to the next house. Again, he rang the bell. He only needed to ring it once. An annoyed looking man with bright green eyes answered.  
"I told you, I don't want any- Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were that stupid salesman again trying to sell me a vacuum cleaner," he sighed and smiled, "So, how can I help you?"  
"Um, are you Mr. Jacob Crowe?" Luka asked.  
"Yes, that's me. Gosh, that accent sounds familiar... Ah, yeah, that's right, you're that Doctor I spoke to! What was your name again?"  
"You can call me Dr. Kovac. Do you remember the young doctor that took you? Her name was Lucy Knight?"  
"Uh... Yes, yes, I think so. Is there a problem?" his eyes looked concerned. Luka looked at him, suspiciously. Either he was a very good liar, or he didn't know what was going on, which Luka highly doubted.  
"Um, yes there is. She's gone missing."  
"Really? Wow, I'm sorry about that... Wait, what does this have to do with me?" he asked, innocently. Luka opened his mouth, but heard a muffled cry from inside the house.  
"What was that?" he asked.  
"It was my cat. She always makes noises when she's hungry. I was just about to feed her."  
"Can I come in?" Luka asked.  
"Uh, I'd let you, but the house's a mess. I hope Miss Knight comes back."  
"Comes... back?"  
"She ran away, didn't she?" he asked.  
"I never said that," Luka said, "I just said she's disappeared..."  
"Oh, well then I hope you find her! Good bye, Dr. Kovac!" and he closed the door. That did it. Luka knew Lucy was in there. But getting in there to find her, that would be another story. He decided to get back to the ER before he was missed.  
  
Lucy sighed as she heard the door close again. For a minute, she had one moment of hope that Luka would find her, but he didn't. She didn't hear the conversation very clearly, but she heard enough to tell her that Luka was suspicious.  
"I guess that's a good thing," she sighed.  
  
"Kerry? Benton and I were talking and we think that Carter-"  
"Wait, what about Dave?" Kerry asked Mark.  
"Dave? Cleo said she'd watch him. Benton wanted to talk about Carter."  
"All right. What about Carter?"  
"Well, we think he's-"  
"Dr. Weaver? Dr. Green?" Cleo said, catching up with the two.  
"Cleo?" Kerry said, "Aren't you supposed to be with Dave?"  
"He wanted a drink and the water was gone so I'm getting more."  
"You left him alone?" Mark and Kerry said together.  
"Is that a problem?" Cleo asked. Mark and Kerry turned on their heal and ran back towards Dave room. When they got there, he was gone. Cleo came in after.  
"But... He couldn't have just gotten up and left... That would have been impossible!" she claimed.  
"Not if you're really determined," Kerry said, "Mark, we're running out of doctors fast. How's Elizabeth? Do you know if she'd be able to work?"  
"Kerry..." Mark said slowly, becoming very interested in a swallow perched outside the window.  
"What?" Kerry asked.  
"Well, when Cleo left to go help us with Dave..." Mark bit his lip and Cleo finished for him.  
"Randi went in and began to talk to her..."  
"So? Wait, don't tell me she's lost her memory too!" Kerry said, exasperated.  
"Um, no, but... Well, Dr. Corday, she, um... told Randi she was tired and lied back down on her pillow. At first, she was only sleeping, but..."  
"But?" Kerry persisted.  
"Well, like Carter, she suffered severe head trauma when she fell down those stairs and... Well, now... She won't wake up..." Kerry's eyes widened.  
"Won't wake up as if she's a heavy sleeper or won't wake up because she's not going to wake up?" Kerry asked, slowly, afraid of the answer, but Cleo and Mark shook their heads.  
"Neither," Mark said, "Kerry, the good news is she's alive, but..."  
"She's in a coma," Cleo finished. Kerry began shouting about every swear word she knew.  
"Carter, Lucy, Abby, Corday, Malucci, Kovac... God knows! What the Hell is going on here? We're going through doctors faster than this staff can eat a box of doughnuts!"  
"Uh, I don't like doughnuts..." Cleo smiled, timidly.  
"I DON'T CARE! JUST GET ME SOME DOCTERS NOW!"  
  
"That can't be good," Luka said to Chuny over the desk at hearing Weaver's scream.  
"Yeah, she's been pretty steamed lately. I wouldn't tell her you were gone if I were you."  
"But I know she's there! I could have sworn I heard her!" he jumped when Chuny's eyes widened. He turned around and saw Dave Malucci in a hat and coat, the color nearly completely gone from his cheeks.  
"You wanna find her?" he asked.  
"Dave! You look like a walking corpse!" Luka whispered, harshly.  
"I guess we're both hiding from Weaver, aren't we? C'mon. You know where she is and now, we're together. One person can distract him while the other goes in to get Lucy. Chuny? You're not going to tell anyone you saw us, are you?" Dave's voice trembled slightly, but his eyes flared with determination. She said nothing. Dave began to shake, but kept his eyes on her. Finally, she nodded, reluctantly.  
"All right, but you be back soon, you hear?" Dave just waved at her and dragged Luka on with him out the door.  
  
"Dave, we're really short handed over there and-"  
"Bite me," Dave interrupted. They were walking to Crowe's house. Dave was still shivering and very white. Luka could still see the bruises. Dave was too weak to do this. What did he think he was doing?  
"Excuse me?" Luka asked.  
"Shut up. We have to get there fast. He could do something to her. Maybe kill her," the way Dave spoke made Luka understand that he didn't want to talk. He shivered more and his legs turned to spaghetti and he fell onto Luka.  
"Dave, you are in no condition to-"  
"This bastard's mine!" Dave swore, clinging onto Luka.  
"Dave, let the police-"  
"Stop acting like Weaver! You wanna get her out of there, don't you? You want to watch this guy suffer, don't you? Look what he's done to all of us!" Dave sounded hysterical.  
"Dave..."  
"Come on, Kovac, are you with me or not?" Dave looked at Luka hopefully. Luka paused.  
"Yes," he heard himself say. But inside his head he screamed 'No! No, Dave could kill himself!' But those weren't the words that came out. Instead, he had said 'yes.' Finally, they approached the house walked up the steps, ready to do what they had to do...  



	8. 

Chapter 8: Remembering the Memories  
  
A/N: Look, sorry this took a while. Tid bits of it were written in class on various post-its and worksheets. I then had to come home, sneak on when my parents weren't home (which I'm doing now, I've been banned since I go on the computer all the time!) and type it all up. Sorry if it's a little short. The poem Abby refers to in the end is by Mirium Waddington (can't remember the name of it.)  
---------------------  
  
"Wait!" Dave stopped, suddenly, "I just realized. I have no idea what we're going to do!"  
"You don't?" Luka asked, "Neither do I!" they heard a cry from inside.  
"Wait!" Dave said, searching in his pockets.  
"What?" Luka asked. Dave pulled out a police badge.  
"My friend, Jake's," Dave informer Luka, "If I flash it fast enough, he won't see!"  
"And what do I do?" Luka asked.  
"Distract him while I search around the house. She shouldn't be that hard to find," Dave said. They rang the doorbell. It took a few minutes, but the same dark haired man answered.  
"Hello, Dr. Kovac... Who's your friend?" he asked.  
"Him? Oh, he's, er, Jake," Luka said.  
"That's right, Officer Jake Franken, I am here to investigate the premises," Dave lowered his voice. His scarf was pulled over his mouth and nose, and Jacob didn't recognize him as the man he had left in the alley.  
"Don't you need a warrant for that?" Crowe asked as Dave pushed him aside, walking in. Dave walked around the house. The couches and armchairs were all white, as was the walls, with scarlet pillows. Dave looked at them and saw no bloodstains.  
"If I may ask, Officer, what did I do wrong?" Crowe asked.  
"Uh, this is just a precaution, just to see if Lucy is around here," Luka said.  
"But she wouldn't be? Why would she be? I've only seen her once and that was six months ago," Without warning, the two doctors heard a muffled cry for help.  
"What was that?" Dave asked, suddenly.  
"My cat. She can sound human like at times. She's still hungry, stupid thing, here, let me go get her and bring her down!" Jacob ran up the stairs. Dave and Luka heard the cry again.  
"It's coming from below us," Dave told him.  
"Yes," Luka agreed, "But where?" they scanned the room. Luka saw an armchair off the carpet and noticed a small patch of dust next to it.  
"Luka," he whispered, "Doesn't that seem odd to you?" Dave walked over to the white armchair and moved it back over the dusty space. It fit over it perfectly. In place of where the chair had been, there was a trap door.  
"Yes!" Dave hissed triumphantly. He opened it and it creaked.  
"What's going on down there?" they heard Jacob call from upstairs.  
"Um, the wind blew the door open. You should get that oiled!" Luka improvised. Dave smiled gratefully at him, "How's your cat?"  
"She won't come out from under the bed, stupid thing! Don't worry, I'll bring her down in a minute so I can show her to you!" Dave licked his cold, chapped lips, took a deep breath, and entered into the dark cellar below...  
  
Mark sat with Elizabeth, holding her hand, wondering if he'd ever see her eyes again.  
"She'll wake up," Jing-Mei said when she entered, as if reading his mind.  
"How do you know?" he asked her.  
"I know," she answered, but he knew she was only trying to be reassuring. Mark took a deep breath and sighed.  
"I should go see Abby. I know Kerry's breaking down..."  
"No, you stay here. I can talk to Abby," Jing-Mei smiled and left. She walked down the hall and noticed Kerry screaming at Chuny.  
"Randi said she saw you talking to them! Where did they go?!" she demanded.  
"I told you, I don't know!" Chuny said, "And even if I did..."  
"And even if you did what?" Kerry demanded, "You wouldn't tell me? I have a right to know, you know!" Jing-Mei walked over to them.  
"Whoa, what's going on?"  
"Chuny refuses to tell me where my doctors have gone!" Kerry said, frustated.  
"Mark's in with Elizabeth if you need-"  
"Not him, you idiot, Kovac and Malucci!" Kerry screamed at Jing-Mei. She looked down.  
"I'm sorry, Dr. Chen, it's just too stressful right now and I'm not in a good mood," Chuny took a deep breath.  
"Crowe," she said.  
"Crow? Like the bird?" Jing-Mei asked.  
"Not the bird, the person. They said they were going to Crowe's to find Lucy..."  
"THAT'S IT! I have HAD it with those two! WHY THE HELL DO THEY HAVE A THING FOR NOT FOLLOWING ORDERS?!" Kerry screamed. She then took deep breaths to calm herself down.  
"Relax, Kerry, I'll bring them back..." Jing-Mei offered.  
"Oh no you won't! You are going to stay right here. Randi? Where the Hell are the police?"  
"Police?" Randi asked.  
"The police! The police I told you to call two hours ago?"  
"Uh..." Randi smiled, nervously, "Well, I was going to, but then, um, Jing-Mei wanted help with Abby and, um, I sorta kinda forgot..."  
"You WHAT?" Kerry screamed, her temper rising to a breaking point, "Give me the phone!" she demanded. Randi was only to happy do obey her. She quickly dialed 911 surprised that with all this going on, Randi had forgotten about it. But then remembered, with all this going on, it was hard not to forget about it.  
  
Abby was becoming paranoid and overly sensitive and this was scaring people. She jumped whenever anyone put a hand on her shoulder and accused them of trying to hurt her. People thought she was going insane. She burst into tears easily and soon, everyone knew that this whole ordeal had torn apart her mind. Her security was gone. She felt exposed to danger and emotionally naked. She herself felt she was going crazy. Carter walked in.  
"C... Carter?" she stammered through the tears she had been shedding.  
"Uh... I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Carter muttered and made to leave.  
"No! Don't... Don't go!" she cried. Carter turned.  
"Yes?" he asked.  
"Come..." she said, wiping away her tears and making a seat for him on the bed, "Why did you come to visit me? Did they tell you?"  
"Um... I'm sorry, I don't even know your name any more. Am I supposed to know you?" Abby looked hurt.  
"What?" she asked, a tear forming in her eye again.  
"Well, the doctors here say I have amnesia. I couldn't stand it in that stuffy room a moment longer, so I sneaked out..."  
"Am... Amnesia?" she breathed, shocked, "You mean, you don't remember anything? About me, about Elizabeth, about Lucy... What happened?"  
"There was a car..." Carter trailed off. He was thrown into a flashback.  
  
"She was pushed down the stairs?"  
"Not pushed, pulled, by a black haired man with the most haunting green eyes. He scared me, Carter!"  
"It's Ok, Luce, we'll find him and bust him,"  
"CARTER!"  
  
"What?" Abby asked after a few minutes.  
"I... I just remembered something. A conversation... Lucy..." he was engulfed by another flashback.  
  
"Ouch!"  
"Oh, come on, it's tiny...it doesn't even need a stitch."  
"Ouch!"  
"Baby! There," Lucy kissed the cut, "Better?"  
"Much."  
  
"You OK?" Abby asked.  
"Yeah... in fact, this is the best I've felt since I woke up... Could I keep talking to you? And, um... Could you help me... Remember?" Abby nodded, vigorously, glad for the company.  
"But I might not be here for long..."  
"Huh?" Carter asked, "Why?"  
"Didn't they tell you? They're moving me."  
"Where?"  
"The psych ward. They think I'm going crazy," Carter stared at Abby.  
"What?" he asked.  
"I don't know. They say I'm being paranoid..."  
"What was your name?"  
"Abby," this triggered another flashback.  
  
"Going swimming Luce?"  
"Abby fell in and I can't find her! Stay there! I'll get her out!"  
  
"You fell in a lake?" he asked.  
"River," she corrected, "And was threatened by someone who... used to stalk me. He almost killed me! Then, he made me blame it on Lucy. I felt terrible and had to tell someone the truth so I did. Now, I'm scared he's going to come back and kill you, me, Elizabeth-"  
"Elizabeth... She's the one that fell down the stairs!" Carter felt proud. He was piecing it all together. A look of astonishment crossed Abby's face.  
"You're remembering!" she said. She laughed with joy and then stopped, abruptly, a strange look coming across her face.  
"What?" Carter asked.  
"Well... That's the first time I laughed since... Since I fell in..." she said, dully as if her mind wasn't there. She stared out the window. She smiled again.  
"I'm glad you're here with me, Carter," she said, "Dr. Chen, she tried to comfort me, but... And Randi was no help. They all scared me. For some reason I felt that they were in league with Jacob... that's the stalker," she added, knowing Carter wouldn't know, "And... Well, you, I know that you can't hurt me, especially because you don't act like they do..."  
"What do you mean?" Carter asked.  
"Well, they treat me almost like a child, I guess. Because I've been crying so much. And they act... They act as if I don't know anything and explain everything to me."  
"Why?"  
"I don't trust anyone anymore. Anyone could be on Crowe's side. So they try to get through to me by using small words. It doesn't work. I know Crowe sent them after me. But you don't even remember anything, so how could you be with him?" she paused, "Unless you're faking it!" she accused, standing up off the bed, "Faking it to give me a false sense of security! You sure know a lot about yourself for an amnesia victim-"  
"Thanks to you!" Carter interrupted, helping her back onto the bed, "You've been the one helping me remember! What you say brings back the memories... Please, trust me, Abby, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to, look at this thing!" she said, pointing to the bandage around his head. Abby relaxed.  
"I guess you're right," she sighed. Then, her eyes lit up again, "Hey! I have an idea!"  
"What?"  
"Well, I can help you remember, and you can help me get my sanity back!"  
"Abby, I personally don't think you *ever* lost it," Carter smiled at her. He was determined to remember and this woman was going to help him.  
"I don't think you ever really forgot, Carter. There was a line in a poem I read somewhere, um... 'Singing and murmuring, the past is reminding us to never forget.'" She smiled back.  
------------------  
  
Please oh please review! Feedback keeps me going! Don't you wanna see what else carter remembers? If Dr. Corday wakes up? If Abby regains her sanity? If Lucy ever gets out of that stinking Hell hole and if Kerry's gonna fire Dave and Luka for leaving? Gimme your thoughts! 


	9. 

Chapter 9: Recalling Future Horrors  
  
A/N: First of all, thanx to the one and only reviewer for chapter 8, and that was Jen. And here's chapter 9 anyway. I'm not sure if you've given up reading this or just reviewing it, but here's nine anyway. Secondly, the reason Carter remembers what he does and blurts out that name is revealed in a later chapter. Well, sort of.  
  
"Peter! Have you seen Carter?" Carol asked, nervously. Peter turned to her with concerned eyes.  
"Carol, you were in there with him a while ago, what happened?"  
"Well, we were talking, and I was really tired. He saw that and said it would be OK if I fell asleep; that he could find something else to do. I disagreed, but I was so tired, then I must have dozed off and now I can't find him! Where did he go?"  
"Damn it!" Peter swore, "Today is not a good day!"  
"Morning, Peter," Carol corrected, pointing at her wristwatch. It was now 1:00 AM and there was still no sign of Dave, Luka, or Lucy and now Carter had disappeared as well.  
"Whatever!" Peter threw his hands in the air, "Just find him! I'm going to go talk to Mark."  
"Yes sir!" Carol saluted him like a soldier and left. Peter entered Elizabeth's room.  
"How's she doing?" he asked Mark.  
"No better, no worse, no change," Mark sighed, sorrowfully. Peter noticed he was holding her hand, firmly.  
"We're very shorthanded right now. What with Lucy, Dave and Kovac gone, Corday down, Abby mentally unstable and Carter miss- I mean, and Carter with memory loss that-"  
"I understand, what do you need?"  
"For you to stay here with Elizabeth," Peter replied.  
"What?"  
"Well, someone has to be here when she wakes up."  
"If she ever *does* wake up..." Mark looked sadly at her.  
"Hey," Peter laid a hand on Mark's shoulder, "She *will* wake up. You can count on that," it was a promise he wasn't sure he would be able to keep. After tonight, he wasn't sure he'd see many of his friends again. Either the way he knew and remembered them, or maybe not even at all.  
  
Jing-Mei opened the door to Abby's room and was shocked to find her co-worker, John Carter, hanging on her every word. But Abby stopped talking when she saw Jing-Mei.  
"Carter..." she said slowly. Carter turned around.  
"Are you Randi or Dr. Chen?" he asked. Jing-Mei looked at him, shocked for a minute that he had confused her with Randi. Then, she remembered Kerry saying something to her about Carter having memory loss and sighed.  
"I'm Dr. Jing-Mei Chen," she said, formally, as if to a patient, rather then a friend, "You used to refer to me as Deb. Seeing as you probably wouldn't remember, you may call me what ever you see fit..." she trailed off. Carter's face had gone blank. Abby smiled.  
"He's remembering you, Dr. Chen!" she said, happily, "He does that a lot. Whenever I say something, it triggers a flashback or a memory. It's happening more frequently now."  
"Deb? Deb..." he said uncertainly, studying her. She smiled. Was he really remembering her? This could be a big break through. Maybe now, they could destroy the wall that had surrounded Carter's mind ever since the accident.  
"Carter?" she said, tentatively.  
"Deb!" he said excitedly, "You? You're the one scaring Abby? She wouldn't hurt you, Abby, you know that!"  
"How do you know?" Abby asked, with the slightest accusing tone, "You shouldn't even remember her!"  
"I sort of do... And other things..." he fought hard to remember and also started remembering something that hadn't even happened.  
  
Music is playing. Loud. I can see Kerry come in. She asks about something, but I can't hear her voice. All I hear is music. I look around and see hearts and other Valentine's Day decorations. I follow Kerry down the hall. She talks to Pablo and then goes to see a man in a Cupid's uniform. She's now searching for something. I still can't hear what she's saying. She runs into Deb in the hall and has a brief conversation silent to my ears. She then looks down and sees a bloody footprint on the floor. She opens the door near the footprint. All I know is I do not want to see what was behind it.  
  
Carter pulled himself out of the 'memory.'  
"Carter?" Abby said, "You were in that memory for a long time. Are you all right?"  
"I... I'm fine... What happened last Valentine's Day?" he asked.  
"Valentine's? Why?" Jing-Mei asked.  
"I just had the strangest memory..."  
"Valentine's Day... '99?" Carter nodded. Jing-Mei tried not to grin. At the word Valentine's Day, Carter remembered more.  
  
I see Kerry open the door. She gasps. I look over her and see what she's gasping about. I almost faint. What I see is horrible. Lucy and I are laying on the floor, bleeding. Lucy and I. Us. What could have happened? How? Who? Lucy...  
  
"Carter?"  
"Is she dead?" Carter asked suddenly.  
"Who?"  
"The other girl. The one you found with me on the floor."  
"Carter, there is no other girl. Lucy called you in. She saw you get hit by the car," Jing-Mei informed him.  
"Not the accident, Valentine's Day!"  
"What?" Abby and Jing-Mei exclaimed, simultaneously.  
"When that woman with the crutch came in and found us on the floor... Lucy and I..."  
"Carter... If you mean what happened between you and Lucy last year, don't worry! We all understand-"  
"Understand what?" Carter asked.  
"We understand why you two did it!"   
"What did we do? Kill each other?"  
"God no!" Abby said, "Maybe it's best you don't remember..."  
"No! I saw her there! On the floor! I want to know if she's alive or if she didn't survive!"  
"Who, Carter?" Jing-Mei and Abby were completely lost.  
"Lucy! In my memory! She was on the floor, we both were! And then, that woman came in and found us! We were bleeding!" Jing-Mei and Abby stared.  
"W-Why were you bleeding, Carter?" she asked.  
"I think... Maybe... We were shot? Or stabbed? Yeah, maybe we were stabbed... I don't know!" Jing-Mei put her hands on Carter's shoulders.  
"Carter... You and Lucy... You were never shot or stabbed... Not that I remember, anyway. What you think was a memory... Maybe it was all just a bad dream..." *A dream...* Carter thought. He knew that had what he felt when he had experienced this.  
"It wasn't a dream!"  
"Abby, I'm sorry, but I think Carter's remembered enough for one day-"  
"Crowe!" Carter blurted out.  
"What?" Jing-Mei asked.  
"I... I have no idea why I just said that..."  
"Come with me, Carter," Jing-Mei led him out of the room. On her way out, she ran into Carol.  
"Oh thank God you found him!" Carol gasped, "Where the Hell did you go?"  
"He went to visit Abby. I think he should come back after he gets some rest. Apparently, they enjoy each other's company. Abby'll barely speak to anyone else but him! And Carter's remembering a lot!"  
"Really? I think that's the best thing I've heard all day!" Carol sighed, "I can take him from here," And she took him back to his room.  
  
Dave descended into the cold, dank cellar. He couldn't see anything. Everything was black. Suddenly, the trap door fell closed on him.  
  
"What're you doing with that?" Jacob asked as he came down the stairs.  
"Uh, nothing..."  
"Where's your officer friend?" Jacob questioned, looking around.  
"He decided to look in the garden... He thought that maybe, if she did run away, that she could be hiding out there."  
"I don't have a garden..." Jacob's eyes narrowed.  
"Oh, well, then he went to check behind the house."  
"Like Hell he did!"   
"Where's your cat?" Luka asked, changing the subject.  
"Killed her," he said, "Her name was Cara."  
"Cara? Interesting name for a cat... Why'd you kill her?"  
"She meowed and wailed all the time just because I'd forget to feed her. When I offered her food she denied, when she learned in return she had to let me rub her stomach. So she died," he said this so casually it irked Luka.  
"So... You let her starve to death just because she wouldn't let you pet her?"  
"Yes," he replied simply, "Is it a crime to want to stroke your cat?"  
"Well, no..."  
"You'll be happy to know I've got a new cat," he said.  
"Really?" Luka tried to smile and sound interested. Only now did he realize how sick this person really was. And how much trouble he had gotten Dave and himself into.  
"Yeah."  
"What's his name?"  
"Her," Jacob informed him.  
"Another her?"  
"I like females. Males don't do much for me."  
"So... What's her name?"  
"Her name, my friend, just happens to be Lucy."  



	10. Lucy Crowe

A/N: The next chapter is the last chapter but then there's a little epilogue. Hope you like this chapter.  
  
Chapter 10: Lucy Crowe  
  
"Lucy? What a nice name for a cat..." Luka forced a laugh.  
"Yes, it is, isn't it. I think I'm going to go check on your friend in the back now," Jacob smiled and walked slowly out of the room. As soon as Luka was sure he was gone, he opened the trapdoor.  
"Dave!" he whispered urgently, "Did you find anything?"  
"Heck no! You expect me to search around this rat-infested hellhole in the dark? You must be crazy!"  
"Sorry, but he's on to us I think. I told him you were out in the back! He's gone to look. Dave, I think this one's really crazy!" Luka told him.  
"Oh, you only just noticed? Most killers are! Now, shut up and leave the door open. I need the light," Luka couldn't see him, but he knew Dave was scared no matter how much he tried to make his voice sound angered and controlled. Luka waited in silence. Why hadn't they heard Lucy scream for help yet? Was she unable to? Was she dead? Luka shook his head of those thoughts. Lucy was alive and they were going to bring her home.  
  
Dave could barely see. He could hear dripping and squeaking.  
"Lucy?" he called, quietly, "Lucy are you down here?" he felt a small, furry body brush the inside of his leg. He flinched.  
"Stupid rats!" Dave shook his leg. He saw the shadow of something in the corner. He ran over to it. He drew back, unexpectedly when he noticed the... whatever it was was covered in rats. It was all he could do to keep from screaming.  
"God, Lucy is that you?" he said, mostly to himself. He then shook his head, "No, no, it wouldn't be," He looked around for any sign of life besides rats and insects. He saw something else on the other side of the room and made his way over to it.  
"Lucy!" he nearly shouted and ran over to it. The body was in a heap and Dave wasn't sure it was alive or dead but what he did no was there were no rats on it and to him, that was a good sign. He kneeled near the body that he knew must be Lucy. He shook it gently. It didn't stir. He pushed the blond hair out of her face and, even in the dim light, he could tell it was bruised. Like his own.  
"Lucy," he whispered, "Lucy, wake up! We're here to get you out of here!" for a minute, his heart stopped when the girl didn't open her eyes. Then, she moved and Dave knew she had to be alive. She groaned and Dave made her sit up. He sliced off her bindings and realized how the rope had cut so deep into her skin they were nearly bleeding. They seemed to have cut off the circulation of blood to her hands. He gently tossed her limp arm over his shoulder and made her stand up on her Jell-O legs. He was just about to hoist her up out of the cellar when he heard it. He heard the scream of fury from a murderously enraged man. Then he knew and admitted to himself all along. He was going to get himself and Lucy killed. And he had dragged Luka into it knowing this deep inside all along.  
  
Carter crept out of his room after a few hours, knowing Abby was too paranoid to sleep. He slithered down the hall like a serpent, silently stepping and avoiding the gazes of his supposed co-workers he didn't even remember. He sank into Abby's room. Her face lit up with delight at the sight of him.  
"Tell me more," was all he whispered, "And be quiet about it. I'm not supposed to be here but I have a feeling that at least one person is in trouble and I *have* to remember something... I don't know what, I just do! So, no questions, just tell me all about my life," Abby nodded, without question, just as Carter had requested and began to weave all of her thoughts and memories of Carter into one intricate tapestry of his life. He was quiet the whole way through, hanging on every word, every thread of silk she added to the tale, nodding and adding little bits he remembered. Though he tried not to do it often, he occasionally would zone out into the flashback of a memory.  
  
'Lucy? Hurry up! Get working!'  
'Weaver won't be too happy about that...'  
'I know what I'm doing Dr. Benton!'  
  
"...And now, I'm going crazy, you've lost your memory, Lucy's missing, and I think Kerry's going crazy with me!" Abby finished. Carter stared at the bed an expression of deep thought on his face and nodded.  
"Uh huh..." he said, blankly. He shook his head and stared at his watch.  
"Oh my God, I've been here for two hours!" he was shocked. It then dawned on him what he had to know, "Oh crap!" he near screamed, "I just remembered something!"  
"What?" Abby asked, feeling important and excited. Her insecurity and paranoia was evaporating rapidly.  
"Lucy. Before when I was talking to you, I remembered something that apparently never happened. But..."  
"But what?"  
"Well..." He didn't know how to describe it, "What if it is *going* to happen? What if I had a memory of... the future?" he tried. Abby laughed.  
"Carter, you're going crazy too!" Carter smiled.  
"Yeah, maybe it was my imagination. But there's something more. Again, before I remembered something I didn't really understand. It was Lucy and I. We were walking and talking. She felt as if someone was trying to kill her friends. I knew she was right because I knew who it was! Except I only just realized that I knew she was right... Does that make any sense at all?"  
"Yeah... What are you talking about? You know Jacob?"  
"Know him?" Carter laughed, "Abby, no matter how much I hate to admit it... he used to be my best friend," Abby gaped, her anxiety returning just as swiftly as it had left. She was in the room with the friend of a kidnapper/stalker/murderer.  
"You- You're- You're joking, right?" she half pleaded.  
"No. I knew him in high school. Then he was so normal. I mean, sure, he would flirt with girls a lot but then, his sister..."  
"What about his sister?"  
"His sister... Got into a car accident. She was the only thing he loved more than flirting and getting dates. He was driving. He lived, she didn't. He always blamed himself and soon, he went further than just casual flirting. He... He began to harass them. Send them letters and things. It became an obsession that I thought he'd grow out of after the mourning period. But he didn't. We grew apart and he literally forgot all about me. Forgot his whole life before the accident with his sister. We drifted apart. Then you told me he stalked you, remember? Remember the look on my face?"  
"Yeah, actually, you did take it a little worse than I expected you would..."  
"That was when I realized he never *did* grow out of it," Carter sighed, "And when she told me, I knew it was him. It all made perfect sense! Someone tried to drown you, and Elizabeth found the stairs... And Lucy herself seemed definitely like the kind of person he'd stalk."  
"Why Lucy?" Abby asked. A sad expression fixed itself on Carter's face.  
"His sister had bright blue eyes. Her name, it turns out, was Lucy. Lucy Crowe. And now, he wants his sister back!"  
"We have to tell the police," Abby said.  
"And I'm going with them!" Carter knew what he had to do.  
  
The cellar door slammed shut. Lucy tightened her grip on Dave. Dave could hear the fight going on on the floor above.  
"I don't care who the Hell you are! You are getting out of my house!" Crowe shouted.  
"Mr. Crowe, my friend is a police officer. He could arrest you-"  
"I don't give a damn!" Crowe swore, "Get out before I kill you!" Dave knew he meant that phrase quite literally. He heard a small sound like the cry of a tiny bird and looked down. He realized it was Lucy, whimpering.  
"Mr. Crowe!" Luka sounded very firm, "If you let us search your house without any trouble and we find something, you may get a short sentence! But if you don't let us search your house at all, Da- I mean Jake can take you down to the police station and we will search by force!" Dave knew he was lying though. They both knew that Dave was no cop. And they were both hoping that Crowe didn't.  
"Fine then, arrest me! Just get the Hell out of my house!" Dave could tell that he didn't believe Luka. Dave listened, full of fear and guilt as there was a huge crash! BOOM! BANG! SMASH! There was some sort of fight going on up there.  
Crowe asked where Dave was with a lot of swear words in the middle. There was no answer from Luka so Crowe persisted. Dave flinched as there was another crash, knowing it could have been Luka, breaking his neck. But he heard another noise that reassured him it wasn't. A more comforting noise.  
"Freeze, police!" he heard. Did he now dare to push open the cellar door? That is, if he could. He wasn't sure if it was locked or not. He dared.  
  
Luka saw the police kick down the door and yell out who the y were. He sighed with relief. There were shards of broken china all around him and Crowe from the vases and plates that had fallen. The china had cut into Luka's back and the blood stained his shirt. Crowe was stronger than he had anticipated, but he had put up a good fight. Just as Crowe was staring in horror at the police, Luka noticed the cellar door creak open and saw two eyes emerge. He smiled.  
"Jake!" Dave said in delight, throwing open the cellar door completely. A brown haired man turned at his name and looked around. He then noticed Dave's head protruding through a hole in the floor and laughed.  
"Hello, Dave!" he smiled. Hie colleagues had their guns pointed at Crowe and Luka. Luka finally realized that being there made him a suspect. In the police's mind, he had assisted in Lucy's kidnapping. He held up his hands and Crowe copied.  
"Wait, he's Dave? He said his name was officer Franken!" Crowe said, glad to get Dave in trouble. Dave sank below the floor and closed the door but Jake ran over to it and swung it open.  
"Dave? Do you have my badge?" Dave paused, then nodded and reached into his pocket. He felt like a guilty child handing a pretty necklace he had seen back to his mother. Jake took the badge.  
"It's a federal crime to impersonate an officer," he warned.  
"Sorry," Dave mumbled.  
"Wait..." Jake squinted past Dave and saw Lucy, "I found her! She's here!" he called to the other officers.  
"I found her!" Dave said, proudly. Lucy didn't speak, but she nodded and smiled, weakly.  
"Good job, Dave!" Jake said, "But you still have to come down to the station and explain *why* you impersonated a cop."  
"Sorry," Dave said again. Two officers went over to Dave and hoisted him and Lucy out of the dank hole. Two officers walked over to Luka and Crowe, grabbed their hands, and pushed them against the wall.  
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney-"  
"Wait!" Dave screamed as they were putting the cuffs on Luka, "Kovac's-" he stopped and smiled, viciously. The fun he could have with this. He laughed to himself.  
"Yes?" Jake asked.  
"Nothing," Dave laughed, evilly.  
"What?" Luka asked, turning his head to Dave as best he could. He gave Dave a murderous look that somehow made him change his mind.  
"Spoil sport!" Dave complained, "He's innocent. It was just Crowe," They took the handcuffs off of Luka.  
"No!" Crowe screamed, "You can't take her! My little princess!"  
"Your princess died long ago, Jacob!" a familiar voice said. Carter stepped out from behind some of the officers.  
"NO!" Jacob tried to lunge at him but the officer had a good grip on him, "She's alive! My princess! Lucy!" he began to cry, "I'm sorry, Lucy!" he sobbed, "Please forgive me. Lucy, who had been on the floor, stood up on weak knees. She pulled the blanket around her that they had given her tighter and walked over to him. He was now on his knees. He didn't look up. She kneeled down to his level and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up now into those blue eyes. And no one in that room was sure if it was Lucy or not who said the next few words.  
"I forgive you, big brother," Lucy smiled. She stood back up and faced Carter, Luka and Dave.  
"Take me home," she said. Jacob looked up into Carter's eyes.  
"You take care of her now, you hear John? I trust you with her. Love her," Carter smiled at Jacob's words.  
"I'll try," he whispered, "I really will."  
  
  
  
Well? C'mon, please give me your thoughts! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I was out of town. 


	11. Always

Chapter 11: Always  
  
Carter, Dave, Luka and Lucy got back to the hospital. When they got back, Kerry began to scream at the three she could see. Carter had Lucy wrapped in a blanket and his arm around her, her head in a hood created by the blanket.  
"Carter! You aren't supposed to be up! You have memory loss and very bad damage... Luka, you should know better! I told you I could get the police to handle it! And Dave! What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking out in your condition?" only when Kerry had said it did Dave realize how weak and tired he was. He lost the feeling in his legs and stumbled to the floor.  
"I'm fine!" he protested, when Luka reached out to help, but his voice suggested otherwise.  
"Dave-"  
"Show her, Carter! Then maybe she won't be so angry!" Dave tried to shout but his voice was failing him. At first, Carter didn't understand. Then, he remembered Lucy.  
"Lucy?" he whispered. She threw off her hood.  
"Oh my God they found you! The police found you!" Kerry said, surprised.  
"Actually, ma'am, that boy found her," Jake said, pointing to Dave, "Dave. Of course once he recooperates I will need to question him about why he impersonated a police officer... But other than that, he's practically a hero! And this young man here put up a great fight with the kidnapper! Nice job, man!" Jake patted Luka on the back, "And we are really grateful for the help Dr. Carter here provided for us! He gave us a motive and he helped calm the culprit down. If you ask me, they're all heroes! And even Lucy herself was a very brave girl!" Lucy smiled, modestly. Kerry was stunned for a moment, then heard Luka's scream and snapped out of it.  
"Dave!" he cried. Kerry looked down. Dave was unconscious, his breathing shallow.  
"Someone get me a gurney!" Kerry shouted to no one in particular.  
"Oh my..." Benton trailed off as he saw the frail Lucy, pale Carter, quivering Luka and unconscious Dave. He lifted Dave up onto the gurney obediently and rushed him off. Kerry and Luka ran with him. Kerry ordered Carter to get some rest. Carter was about to object, but then agreed.  
"After I get you a doctor, of course!" he smiled at Lucy who smiled back.  
  
Abby smiled and laughed more often especially when she heard that Jacob Crowe was behind bars and getting psychological help. Soon, when her paranoia had disappeared completely and she understood that everyone in the hospital was not out to get her, she went back to work and fit in fine.  
Dave got back on his feet fine and soon. He got into a little trouble with the police, but since he helped find a murderer, he wasn't punished too severely. However, everyone did tease him about it.  
"Watch out, here comes Officer Dave!" people would laugh at times.  
"Ha ha, very funny!" he'd answer. Jake came to see him often to make sure they weren't too hard on him.  
Luka went on as if nothing had ever happened. He didn't even tease Dave, which came as some what of a shock to everyone. But he smiled and continued. What they didn't know was that something that happened when he was working with Dave.  
"You weren't really going to let them take me to jail, were you?" he had asked out of the blue. This question had caught Dave by surprise, the way Luka had intended it to.  
"Uh, well, I don't know. The idea was tempting. It would have been great to get you out of my hair for a while..." Dave had quickly came up with that.  
"No then," Luka had said, looking up from the patient and smiling.  
"How do you know?" Dave grinned, mysteriously.  
"Trust me, I know!" Luka had laughed, and they continued to work.  
Carter's memory returned swiftly and Abby was always glad to help him. Soon, he was back to his old self. But the thought that he could have lost Dave, Luka and Lucy scared him more then anything. What would he have done? Hopefully, he would never have to find out...  
People would always beg Luka, Carter and Dave to tell the tale of what happened. At first, all three would tell the truth, even Luka spoke. But then, Luka stopped telling it at all saying  
"I've already told you, go pester someone else!" But Dave and Carter never tired of the publicity. Soon, they made up elaborate tales of their adventures. But they soon got too unbelievable.  
It was a while before Elizabeth woke up, a month, in fact. But when she did, there was much rejoicing, especially with Mark. He had been so happy when she woke up. They had kissed, passionately.  
Kerry's breakdown made her take a few days off from work, to everyone's relief. They were very tired of her yelling at them to get things right. She came back a week before Elizabeth woke up very refreshed. When asked where she had been, she replied simply "the beach." But everyone knew there was no real sandy beach in Chicago.  
Lucy got back to work fine, though she spoke very little for a month or so since she said 'take me home.' She was a little shaken up about the whole thing. And so it shocked Carter greatly when, after Elizabeth woke up, she asked to see him on the roof. When Carter got there, he saw Lucy staring at the stars.  
"Last night I had a dream that we went to Disneyland. We went on all the rides and didn't have to wait in line."  
"I drove you to your house where we stared up at the stars. I listened to your heartbeat as I held you in my arms..." Carter finished the verse of the song for Lucy. She turned and smiled.  
"You know that song?"  
"Yeah. It's nice."  
"It is, isn't it?" she sighed, turning back to the stars.  
"What did you want to talk about?"  
"You knew him. Jacob Crowe, I mean," she whispered, still staring at the stars, her arms crossed in a poor attempt to warm herself.  
"Yeah..."  
"Well?" Lucy asked.  
"He had a sister that had your eyes. Her name was Lucy," somehow, Carter knew what she wanted to know.  
"I thought so..." she turned to him, "I wish I could tell you..."  
"Tell me what?"  
"I care about you a lot. I'm glad your memory's back," Lucy said, turning back to the stars. The song kept playing in her head.  
"Today I woke up alone wishing you were here with me. I wanted us to be something that we'd probably never be..." a tear rolled down her cheek. Carter smiled and put her arm around her.  
"I'll always be here for you, Luce," he whispered.  
"As will I, Carter," she leaned her head on his shoulder, "Always."  
  
  
  
Next part is the epilogue. Not neccisary for you to read, I'm not expecting many reviews for it, but if you want to see something bitter-sweet that happens after it, then you can read it. SO, basically, this is the end. 


	12. Epilogue: Right Here Waiting

Epilogue: Right Here Waiting  
  
A/N: I had this written for a long time now, afraid to post it. But now, I did post it when I heard the song (right here waiting by Richard Marx.) So here it is.  
  
Carter whistled casually, searching for Lucy. A patient was still waiting to be seen. He knew she was probably with Sobriki, waiting for a psych. consul. He opened the door to the exam room. It was dark. He saw a discarded valentine on the floor. Then, he felt it. The long, cold, sharp piece of metal that was suddenly shoved into his back. He couldn't believe it until he reached his hand back and felt it. When he took his hand back, it was bloody.  
"Somebody!" he tried to yell as he knocked a few things over. He fell to the floor and saw a horrible sight.  
"Lucy!" he cried. Déjà vu. He had seen this before. In a memory, in an image, in a daydream. He knew this was coming and did nothing about it. And he knew that Lucy was going to die that night. And there was nothing he could do about it. But as he lost consciousness, one word rang in his mind.  
"Always..." and Carter knew that she would be right there with him.  
  
Oceans apart, day after day, and I slowly go insane.  
I hear your voice on the line but it doesn't stop the pain.  
If I see you next to never, how can we say 'forever?'  
Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you.  
I took for granted all the times I thought would last somehow.  
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears, but I can't get near you now.  
Oh can't you see it baby? You've got me going crazy.  
Wherever you go, what ever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you.  
I wonder how I can survive this, but in the end, if I'm with you, I'll take the chance.  
Oh can't you see it baby? You've got me going crazy.  
Wherever you go, what ever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  
Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks, I will be right here waiting for you.  
Right here waiting...  
  
  
Now Review or wild goats will attack you when your sleeping! 


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